More than 60 people have filed lawsuits alleging their phones were hacked by the defunct tabloid News of the World, including parents of two child victims of horrific violent crimes.

Lawyer Tamsin Allen, who represents some of the plaintiffs, said Thursday that 63 claims have been filed against the newspaper's publisher.

Claimants include Shaun Russell, whose daughter Josie survived a 1996 hammer attack in which her mother and sister were killed, and Sara Payne, whose 8-year-old daughter was murdered by a pedophile in 2000.

A test case by five lead claimants, including actor Jude Law, will begin at the High Court in January.

Rupert Murdoch shut down the tabloid in July after the revelation it had eavesdropped on the phones of politicians, celebrities and crime victims.